Perhaps the most urgent need facing modern industrial nations throughout the world is the need for conservation and saving as well as efficient use of all forms of energy. The supply of consumable fuels such as hydrocarbon fuels and the like is vast but is unfortunately limited and will eventually be depleted. In addition, the large scale consumption of hydrocarbon fuels produces environmental effects which are potentially more dangerous than the exhaustion of the energy supplies themselves. The familiar problems of urban smog, acid rain and build up of carbon based gases within the atmosphere is well known. The greatest contributor to such environmental problems and excessive consumption of hydrocarbon fuels is found in the many types of vehicles used in the modern industrial world and elsewhere.
One of the most promising solutions to the problems created by hydrocarbon fuel consuming vehicles is that of electrically powered vehicles. Such electrically powered vehicles are virtually pollution free and utilize electrical energy which may be conveniently manufactured at localized sites or power plants in an energy efficient manner. One of the problems facing the development of such electrical vehicles is the limited capability of batteries and other cost effective apparatus to store sufficient energy to provide a practical long distance vehicle. Faced with the limited storage capabilities of batteries, practitioners in the art have endeavored to provide electric powered vehicles having some onboard capability to produce or replenish electrical energy and thereby extend the vehicle operative range. Such attempted solutions have included utilizing fuel cells which while effective are extremely expensive as well as solar electrical converters. Solar electric converters or solar panels as they are most typically called utilize various arrays of light energy responsive elements such as photovoltaic elements which convert light energy to electrical energy. Other energy saving approaches utilize a motor/generator drive system in which the kinetic energy of the vehicle during braking is used to drive the motor generator in a generator mode of operation thereby returning a portion of the kinetic energy of the vehicle to the electric power system during braking operation.
Despite the substantial efforts expended by practitioners in the art to produce electrically powered automobiles, the solution remains illusive due in large part to the substantial mass and aerodynamic size of the automobile itself. Automobiles suitable in size for use by commuters and the like generally weigh in excess of one thousand five hundred pounds placing a substantial burden upon the energy short electrical system of the vehicle.
Two wheeled vehicles have long provided a cost effective, fuel efficient alternative to full-size automobiles and have enjoyed great popularity in their gas powered forms throughout the world. Among the most efficient of such vehicles are small motorcycles and urban transportation vehicles known in the art as mopeds. Mopeds in particular are fuel efficient in that they require small amounts of power, are relatively lightweight and well suited to the urban environment. Unfortunately little, if any, effort has been expended by practitioners in the art in producing an efficient practical two wheeled urban vehicle operated using electrical power. One problem that is particularly daunting is the limited space available in such vehicles for supporting solar panels in an exposed position.
As a result, there arises a need in the art for an energy efficient effectively designed two wheeled electrically powered vehicle which is capable of operating for extended ranges in an urban environment.